The Crittenden Automotive Library

On This Day in Automotive History: July 4

On This Day in Automotive History
July 4

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Birthdays: Franz Heim (1882), Cecil Burnaugh (1906), Ernst Loof (1907), Johnnie Parsons (1918), Wolfgang Seidel (1926), Joe Bell (1927), Jim McWithey (1927), Bill Horstmeyer (1930), Ernie Pieterse (1938), Bob Melanson (1941), Vince Giamformaggio (1942), Robert Brown (1943), Ray Mason (1946), Skeeter McKitterick (1946), Rene Arnoux (1948), Claude de Wael (1948), Mike Potter (1949), Frank Swords (1950), Ross Lilley (1951), Des Wall (1951), Richard Niemann (1952), Graeme Crosby (1955), Bill Sieders (1955), Don Drake (1957), Steve Hartman (1958), Roland Ratzenberger (1960), Steve Robertson (1964), Cesar Jimenez (1969), Freddy Van Beuren (1971), Keiko Ihara (1973), Jan Magnussen (1973), Christian D'Agostin (1976), Marconi Abreu (1980), Marc Lieb (1980), German Sanchez (1989), Shane Lee (1993), James Allen (1996), Kurt Kostecki (1998), Riccardo Pera (1999)

1930: Governors of 13 States, in the area for a national Governors meeting, participate in the dedication ceremony for the $2 million Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway in Zion National Park, UT. The ceremony takes place in one of the galleries of the mile-long tunnel that is one of the unique features of the highway. The audience of 2,000 finds the tunnel delightfully cool on a sizzling Independence Day. Director of National Parks H. M. Albright introduces Chief Thomas MacDonald and District Engineer B. J. Finch, who describes some of the facts about the highway. A contemporary account describes the highway as "a wonderful engineering accomplishment in the land of natural wonders."

1979: Auto Shack opened in Forrest City, Arkansas, the first store in what would become AutoZone.

1997: Charles Kuralt died.

On This Day in Automotive History: July 4